TXT ALT DELETE LANGUAGE
Text messaging has now surpassed voice calls on the cell network. Educators are finding it a spreading plague against the English language, as youth begin to think in non-vowel slang instead of coherent sentences.
Telecoms are all for text messaging. Each data transmission is a cash transaction in their books. For users, it is an addictively quick communication tool that burns up minutes.
The compression of time and thought is the new keystone for the microtechnology of this age. Look how communication has been compressed over a short period of time: type written reports and letters sent by mail, then courier, now fax; telephone calls, chat rooms, to emails, now text messages. And with each short burst of information comes with a new social contract that one's message should be returned immediately, without delay, instantaneously. The era of instant gratification is at hand.
|
Even the social network tools have evolved into quick hits. People had their own web pages. Those were tombstoned for simpler to maintain free blogs, which were public diaries and photo albums. Now, short time stamped phrases on sites like Twitter are all the rage. Does anyone write in paragraphs anymore? Texting is the fastest fast food for the mind. But some people still crave some meat and potatoes communication with other people. The language of the culture will suffer over time. Children will forget how to diagram a sentence. Students will slack off when trying to tie sentences together in coherent subject paragraphs.
|
 |
But hope is not totally lost. In late September, ESPN ran the national school Scrabble championship on a Sunday afternoon against NFL football. Most Americans probably missed the program because they were texting their friends about their football team's dumb playcalling or turnovers. Young teenagers from across the country won the right to compete in two person teams for the championship. As one teacher-coach told the host, the game was a great learning tool. Students had to learn new words. And words, she said is the key to understanding and learning. She found that students that improved their vocabularies became better students.
It may take games to get language skills in the classroom instead of kids secretly texting messages under their desks during class.
